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Superior epigastric artery: anatomy, location and function

A terminal branch of the internal thoracic artery to the upper abdominal wall. It supplies the upper rectus abdominis and the diaphragm.

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Highlighted in the model: Superior epigastric artery. Click any part to read about it, or switch off “Highlight topic” to see the whole body. 3D data: BodyParts3D, © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0; meshes simplified and recoloured. The model is an adult male.

Superior epigastric artery at a glance

What it is
A terminal branch of the internal thoracic artery to the upper abdominal wall.
Location
It continues down behind the rectus abdominis and anastomoses with the inferior epigastric artery.
Function
It supplies the upper rectus abdominis and the diaphragm.
Body system
Cardiovascular · paired (left and right)
FMA ID
FMA3988 (Foundational Model of Anatomy)

Key facts

  • It anastomoses with the inferior epigastric artery.
  • It enters the rectus sheath by passing between the sternal and costal slips of the diaphragm.

Clinical relevance

This anastomosis provides collateral flow if the aorta is obstructed.

Structures next to the superior epigastric artery

The nearest named structures in the 3D model, measured from the centre of each part:

References

  1. Foundational Model of Anatomy: Superior epigastric artery (FMA3988). EMBL-EBI Ontology Lookup Service.
  2. OpenStax. Anatomy and Physiology 2e, §20.1 Structure and Function of Blood Vessels. Rice University, 2022.
  3. Mitsuhashi N. et al. (2009). BodyParts3D: 3D structure database for anatomical concepts. Nucleic Acids Research 37, D782–D785. Data © The Database Center for Life Science, CC BY 4.0.

Explore the whole body in the interactive 3D human anatomy model, or browse the A–Z list of human structures.